Unexpected
by you.just.got.STORMed
Summary: An alternate ending to Squire. Kel/Dom obviously :D Lame title summary, but oneshot is alright... I think. Please review!


**A/N: hehehehe**

**A oneshot set in Squire- the part where Raoul reminds Kel that they need to go back to Corus for her Ordeal and Raoul has made a joke about her deciding to give up her shield and join the Own.**

**Kel's thoughts after and a little modification to the story that I don't THINK anyone else has explored :) Correct me if I'm wrong.**

Kel ran a hand through her hair, confused. How could she have forgotten all about her Ordeal and her knighthood?

She stacked the account books that she had been working on neatly and began shoving all her clothes back into a bag.

The thought of leaving the Own and all her friends there made her want to cry; she made herself paste a calm mask over her face and held back her tears firmly.

Crying would achieve nothing.

She supposed that it was good that she had forgotten all about her Ordeal, really. Worrying would have only made her more tense and stressed.

Kel shrugged off her melonchaly thoughts, only to be drenched in more.

Fighting with the men of the Own had made them respect her, she thought with grim satisfaction. The metal killing machine incident had succeeded in making her closer with the men of the Third Company.

Yet, going back to Corus, there would be more skeptics- more people she hadn't proved her worth to.

Raoul's offer was looking tempting- and although she knew that she would never accept it, that knighthood was what she wanted more than anything- she let herself dream for a moment.

Life in the Own, she imagined, would continue on as it had. Bickering with Lerant, joking with Dom, travelling, enjoying life and working for the good of the kingdom.

A hesitant clearing of the throat outside her tent made Kel jerk herself out of these dreams.

_Stupid_, she chided. _Knighthood is what I've dreamed of since I was young. I spent years in the palace, training, just to become a knight. To throw it away now..._

_But what if I only wanted to be a knight because I didn't know that I could join something like the Own? _

_The Own gets lots of action. The Own is useful to the realm. The Own protects people... what more do I want?_

"Kel?" an all too familiar voice came from outside her tent. She quelled her instant reaction to the presence of Dom and instead thought firmly of Cleon.

"Yeah?" she responded, quickly shutting the bag that she was shoving clothes into- her underwear was on top, and that was the last thing that she wanted Dom to see.

"Can I come in?" Dom asked.

Kel frowned, curious to know what Dom could possibly want from her that required him to come into her tent and talk.

"Sure," she replied, holding open the tent flap for him.

He ducked his head to walk inside and straightened out- his head just touched the roof of the tent, Kel noted with interest. She was shorter than him- at least by the length of her index finger, if not more.

There was a slightly awkward silence as Kel waited expectantly for him to say whatever he had come to say.

Dom stayed silent.

Kel sighed inwardly. Awkward, not to mention her over-active imagination was going crazy at Dom's close proximity... embarrassing.

"Have you come to get me to order the Own new shirts or something?" she finally demanded. "The answer's no. Your old ones are fine."

Dom chuckled lightly. "I never knew you took notice of our shirts."

Kel shrugged. There was one attempt at conversation- but to no avail.

Finally, after a longer silence, Kel decided she simply must find out what Dom wanted.

"Dom, if you don't mind, I sort of have to..." she gestured meaningfully towards her bag.

"Ah. Yes... O-of course," Dom stammered.

Kel blinked. She had never seen him like this- stammering, awkward... What could possibly be wrong?

It seemed that he had finally decided to tell her.

"I guess you really are leaving, then," Dom nodded towards her bag.

"Yes... My Ordeal's coming up," Kel agreed, puzzled.

He stared at the ground for a moment, blue eyes troubled.

The next words out of his mouth made Kel sure that she was having some sort of unrealistic fantasy.

"Kel... I don't want you to leave." At last, he looked up, blue eyes capturing her hazel ones tightly.

She'd never thought she would hear this from him.

But, shaking herself back to reality, she realised he must have only been meaning them as a close friend.

Her heart, previously floating high at his words, again hit the ground.

"Oh, um, thanks, Dom. That's nice of you," she managed, through her disappointment.

Dom stared at her, not quite understanding why her face was still as emotionless as ever, her words polite yet somehow meaningless.

Did she not feel how he felt about her?

"Don't leave," he said gently, eyes still connected. "Please. Stay."

Kel froze as one of his hands reached up to lightly skim down her cheekbone, down her jaw and to her lips.

Could it possibly be...?

"I really like you, Kel," Dom continued softly. "You're incredible. You're so... different from other women, yet it's a good different."

Seeing her face still frozen in shock, he swallowed, hard.

"I guess I was stupid, thinking that you felt the way I did. I wasn't sure, but sometimes I thought that I could see it in you... I'm sorry, Kel. I know about Kennan and all, but I thought maybe... seeing as he had to marry an heiress... I'm sorry. I'll... just... go."

He turned awkwardly, shoulders slumped with misery, eyes downcast.

It was then that the full meaning of his words and the reality fell on Kel.

"W-what?" she tried to say, choking slightly on the simple word.

Dom turned to face her, smile bittersweet. "You don't understand yet? I love you, Kel. I wish that you'd stay and join the Own with me."

"You... love me?" The words felt odd coming out of Kel's mouth. The L word- love- was one of her and Cleon's forbidden words.

Never had she thought that she would hear it coming from Dom.

"Is this a joke?" she demanded suddenly, the horrible thought occurring naturally to her. It didn't exactly seem like a Third Company joke- usually these sorts of pranks were reserved for the people that they didn't like- but it was more than possible.

Dom blinked at her, surprised. "No. Of course not. I wouldn't joke about something like this. I promise you, Kel. This is not a joke. Far from it."

She stared at him, and slowly reached out a tanned hand to touch his.

His hand gripped hers tightly, he put his other hand on top of hers. "What does this mean?" he whispered. Kel jumped at the mere sound, her body tingling from his presence.

"It means..." Kel began, licking her dry lips. "It means, I l-" she stumbled on the word, and changed it at the last minute. "I like you too. As more than a friend..."

Seeing a faintly hurt look in his bright blue eyes, she amended this.

"I don't know whether I love you. I don't know what love is. But I think, with you, it would be easy to realise."

A smile broke out onto his face, revealing white, white teeth.

Kel swallowed down a feeling of faint guilt about Cleon.

To be sure, this could be classified as cheating on him, but to her, it was the inevitable break up sign that had always had to come.

Just sooner than she had thought.

She loved Cleon- she thought- but love just wasn't enough to keep them together.

They had both known that from the start.

A strong, muscled arm wrapped around Kel's waist, pulling her close. Kel found her face buried in Dom's sweet-smelling shoulder.

And suddenly, Kel wanted nothing more than to be with him.

Him and the Own.

Her future.

He tilted her chin up gently and kissed her sweetly.

When he broke away, they were both panting slightly.

"Do you think," Kel whispered nervously, "that Lord Raoul would mind particually if I decided to join the Own?"

Dom smiled down into her eyes. "I don't think he'd mind at all."

**_A/N: Well, there you have it. Kel joins the Own.....!_**

**_Review please and I'll try and update You Belong With Me, Arranged and Why, Hello Asap!_**

**_:D:D:D:D_**


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